In this article, we chose the musical form of a sonata to examine tetrads, a simple four-fold structure that Marshall McLuhan coined and employed to describe various technologies. Tetrads, as cognitive models, are used to refine, focus, or discover entities in cultures and technologies, which are hidden from view in the psyche. Tetradic logic…

Adult instrumental musicians are not the only ones to develop painful problems that interfere with their practice and performance--young musicians are affected, too. In fact, some young instrumentalist are more likely than their elders to be bothered by these painful conditions. Health professionals who frequently see musicians in their offices…

This article reports on parents' perceptions of the way music CDs and DVDs were used with children under the age of five in the home environment. This was part of a study that explored the musical practices of parents with children at home. A survey was sent to parents in three preschools, asking about parental music background, young children's…

This paper explores one-to-one teaching in an academy of music as culturally constituted. Taking Foucault's concept of discursive practice as a point of departure, the practice of two instrumental teachers is analysed and compared with regards to how the teachers adopt professional discourses to construct their teaching in quite distinct ways, and…

The primary research question for the study was, "Will older adult amateur musicians' personality profiles reflect the traits found in professional musicians?" Participants (N = 58, ages 52 to 79) recruited from a New Horizons Institute "band camp" for older adult amateur musicians completed a musical background questionnaire and the Cattell…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the development of the learning experiences of gifted young string players in Taiwan. Nine musicians under the age of 40, who had been accepted into music programs for the gifted, were invited to discuss their experiences and the development of their careers. Thorough interviews were conducted and then…

Provides extensive annotated bibliographies on sound, musical instruments, the perception of musical sound and other aspects of musical acoustics. (Author/CP)

In consideration of the great amount of change in demand for specific sounds and colors from the percussion section, the author provided some hints for selecting sticks and mallets, practice pads, snare drums, cymbals, timpani, and keyboard instruments. (Author/RK)

Article discussed the inquiry approach in teaching music. (Editor/RK)

This paper is one of the first presentations of research into brain gym's effectiveness in learning musical instruments. Brain gym (or Edu-K) is the popular, over-arching name for a system of exercises, approaches, and techniques intended to improve mental and physical performance. We explain the basic concepts and activities of brain gym and…

This article describes an innovative approach to analysing, describing and evaluating the careers of musicians, and applies it in the case of 37 "professors", that is, instrumental teachers, working at a conservatoire in the UK. The professors emerge as flexible and committed musicians who enjoy teaching conservatoire students, and who…

This article was motivated by a staff development session when the brass faculty of a conservatoire were invited to share and discuss their approaches to teaching. It presents the results of interviews with six well known woodwind or brass players who have also taught at one or more conservatoires in London for periods of between one and 40 years.…

Part of a section, "Essays in Musical Retribalization.

Describes the Suzuki method of teaching which introduces young children to music and the violin so they can progress, after years of study, into standard violin literature. States that this method provides a base upon which the young violinist can develop musical maturity. (GEA)

Reviews a study that examined the validity of different rating scales for measuring instrumental achievement with the clarinet. Rejects the contention that the new rating scales are superior to the Clarinet Performance Rating Scale. (BSR)